Robert Stein (1950)

Robert Stein (1972)

Robert Stein (2000s)

About Me

editor, publisher, media critic and journalism teacher,
is a former Chairman of the American Society of Magazine Editors, and author of “Media Power: Who Is Shaping Your Picture of the World?” Before the war in Iraq, he wrote in The New York Times: “I see a generation gap in the debate over going to war in Iraq. Those of us who fought in World War II know there was no instant or easy glory in being part of 'The Greatest Generation,' just as we knew in the 1990s that stock-market booms don’t last forever.
We don’t have all the answers, but we want to spare our children and grandchildren from being slaughtered by politicians with a video-game mentality."
This is not meant to extol geezer wisdom but suggest that, even in our age of 24/7 hot flashes, something can be said for perspective.
The Web is a wide space for spreading news, but it can also be a deep well of collective memory to help us understand today’s world. In olden days, tribes kept village elders around to remind them with which foot to begin the ritual dance. Start the music.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Hillary Clinton's Hospitalization

Only
in the ugliness of today’s Washington could a life-threatening medical
emergency be seen in terms of a career move.

Hillary
Clinton’s hospitalization yesterday for a blood clot after a fainting fall and
concussion earlier in the month inspires widespread sympathy and hope but also underscores
the political sniping about her physical state in the aftermath of the Benghazi
attack and the ongoing John McCain-Lindsey Graham political circus over it.

When
one of the nation’s most admired figures collapsed after effective and exhausting
service as Secretary State, the nasty buzz began about it as a ploy to evade
responsibility for a single event late in her four-year tenure.

For
less twisted onlookers, the gravity of Mrs. Clinton’s condition was clear when
she failed to appear with the President ten days ago when he announced the
nomination of John Kerry to succeed her, but in the bizarre, bitter world of
GOP survivors of last month’s election, simple decency goes by the boards.

While
most observers hope for her quick recovery and a restorative period of rest and
hibernation for Hillary Clinton, unhappy new year wishes to those who can only
see her health in terms of the 2016 elections.

Update: Beyond the politicizing, however,
the medical reporting on Mrs. Clinton’s clot has a troubling evasive aspect,
leaving unanswered questions about the possible connection between the
concussion and the clot. In coming days and weeks, the prognosis for her
long-term health will have to become much clearer.